1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bed warmers and, in particular, to a substantially flat bed warmer formed from a flexible material which is adapted to be inserted beneath or between the sheets of a bed and used to heat the sheets and the mattress.
2. Description of the Related Art
To avoid the discomfort of getting in to a cold bed, for centuries various bed warmers have been employed to preheat bed linens. While the forms of bed warmers have changed substantially over the years, the desire to preheat bed linens has never waned.
Most recently, bed warmers have been in the form of hot water bottles and electric blankets. Hot water bottles, however, have the disadvantage that water must be first heated on the stove or hot water must be available from a faucet, the hot water bottle must be filled and then the heavy hot water bottle carried to the bed or the bed linens. All to often, the hot water bottle can become unplugged or otherwise opened, rendering the bed linens unusable. Further, hot water bottles, which are necessarily small because of their weight when filled provide for only very localized heating of bed linens.
Electric blankets have also been used for many years to heat up bed linens and mattresses, as noted above. However, in addition to being relatively expensive, electric blankets lack portability because of their size and thickness and present the risk of electrocution and/or fire as a result of a short or overheating. While electric blanket manufacturers recommend routine servicing to at least minimize the risk of electrocution and/or fire, it is a fact that many electric blankets remain in use even though they are potentially dangerous.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a bed warmer which does not risk soiling the sheets with hot water, and is lightweight and collapsible to a relatively small size so as to be portable and yet expandable to a size large enough to warm a substantial portion of the bed linens. It would further be desirable to provide a bed warmer which can readily heat bed linens to an acceptable and comfortable temperature with safety and in a relatively short period of time.